Common types of printers include single-pass and shuttle-based inkjet printer systems. FIG. 1A illustrates an example of printing using a single-pass inkjet system. The printer includes one or more printheads that span the width of the printer, which is perpendicular to the direction of the paper transport. The printheads can access one or more ink tanks to print an image on media that advances under the printheads in a downstream direction. FIG. 1B illustrates an example of printing using a shuttle-based system. The printing involves multiple “passes” of a carriage including a printhead that moves perpendicular to the direction that the media advances over a printing area. With each pass, ink supplied from one or more ink tanks is deposited on a medium to print an image. Hence, the carriage can pass the printheads over media multiple times to produce a full-color image.
The printheads of inkjet printers eject drops of ink through small nozzles onto media. Each drop of ink forms a printed dot on media. A printed image is formed from numerous printed dots. In some instances, the ink is obtained from one or more ink tanks. For example, an inkjet printer may have a primary ink tank to store ink and a secondary (or auxiliary) ink tank that can supply the primary ink tank with ink when necessary. The secondary ink tank can feed the primary ink tank with ink when the level of ink in the primary ink tank becomes insufficient (e.g. below a given level of ink).
A secondary ink tank typically includes an arrangement of complex ink porting or passageways for routing ink of the inkjet printer. A process for manufacturing a secondary ink tank involves assembling several component parts that fit together to collectively form the secondary ink tank. The secondary ink tank can have various leak points where the component parts fit together imperfectly. One way to mitigate this problem is to subject the secondary ink tank to a sealing process that seals any gaps between the component parts of the secondary ink tank. However, the typical sealing process complicates an already complex, burdensome, and cost-prohibitive manufacturing process that does not result in a reliably functional ink tank.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved process of manufacturing a functionally reliable ink tank that has complex ink porting/passageways and other cavities. The ink tank should have a reduced number of component parts and resulting leak points, which are otherwise common in ink tanks that are produced according to industry standard machine practices.